Instagram for Garden Communicators

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Instagram is no longer the red-headed stepchild of Facebook, now fully acquired and integrated into the pantheon of social media platforms. With nearly 70% of Americans under 30 using Instagram (1,2) and as the second-most downloaded app in Apple’s App Store (after YouTube), it’s clear that Instagram is visual, mobile, and youthful.

But what if you are none of these things, content to compose your prose on your laptop, share to your favorite Facebook gardening groups, or maybe even tap out a twitter treatise? You have perfectly optimized blog posts for those who prefer to read quietly when they have time, but you may be missing out on a new generation of readers eager to learn.

An Instagram account can be grown organically, to share your written work beyond your usual audience.  If your ideal reader is new to gardening, they crave inspiration and how-tos and are finding it online using YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram as their visual search engines.

How on earth do you distill those perfect 1000 words to an Instagram caption or choose a passable picture from the blurry options on your phone? (And who even knows what’s up with What’s App and Snapchat? )  Sure, taking a photo with the intention to illustrate a point helps, but there are apps and filters that can turn any of us into Art Wolfe or Imogen Cunningham.

Although thumb-stopping content is ideal, the reality is that prose and keywords count far more for discoverability, especially when we’re squinting at tiny screens.  Hashtags help people searching for content to find new accounts and related ideas.  Purposeful prose grabs readers and invites interaction.  Instagram captions are short conversations, telling a story about you, your writing process, your successes (and failures) in the garden.  It’s an ongoing exchange of information and inspiration.  We each learn from each other and get ideas for new projects.

Gardening, being the slowest of the performing arts, is an unlikely candidate for success in the constant consumption whirl of social media.  The craft of writing and the slowness of editing is hard to portray in the instant of Instagram.  But by finding that perfect moment of dew on a petal, a well-crafted phrase about sowing seeds, we connect and grow, one by one.

Instagram is more than chasing likes and followers, it’s about making real connections with real people.

Remember, it’s Social media.

Let’s throw an online garden party, and invite everyone.

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https://fashionplants.com/why-i-love-instagram-for-garden-communication/

https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-statistics/

https://gs.statcounter.com/social-media-stats/all/united-states-of-america

About Grace Hensley

Grace Hensley runs Fashion Plants, a business strategy and digital marketing company she founded to keep busy while raising two young sons, after a career in biotechnology.  As a professional photographer, she became interested in garden communication and social media trends to help you talk about your business on social. She is a Certified Professional Horticulturist and continues to work in seasonal container design to remain current with the hot new plants. Plus, she’s addicted to soil.